Pima, the best-dressed cotton

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Updated 1:58 pm, Friday, November 2, 2012

Most of us can't afford to drive the best car, book the most luxurious cruise or sip the finest champagne. At least we can wear the best cotton.

If you've ever been out clothes shopping and run your hand across a stack of cotton men's sweaters, women's blouses or polos so indulgently soft that you hesitate to peek at the price tag, chances are the fabric started out life as raw fiber in the seed pod or "boll" of the species gossypium barbadense.

That's Pima – a short word for an extra-long-staple cotton named after the Pima Indians of Arizona. They helped the U.S Department of Agriculture develop pima in the early 1900s, breeding it from premium Sea Island and Egyptian varieties.

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One of the world's finest cottons, true American-grown pima is often called by the trademark name Supima®, after the organization that certifies 100% American pima quality. A Supima tag attached to a garment, or a Supima logo in a catalog or online, is a good way to know you're looking at the real deal in men's dress shirts, polos, women's sweaters and other superior garments. From the moment the seeds go into the ground, and at every step of the manufacturing process, the authenticity and quality of Supima is verified and documented by exacting inspectors. Only the top 3% of the American cotton crop earns Supima status.

Because it requires a hot climate with limited moisture, Supima is supplied by about 500 growers in just four states: California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Picture sun-drenched fields covered with fluffy white bolls that look like little clouds, stretching as far across the Southwest as you can see. Harvested and ginned to remove seeds, the fibers are the treasure that add exceptional softness, brilliance of color and years of life. Cotton fibers must be at least 1 3/8 inches long to be considered extra-long staple, and Supima fibers are longer still – measurably superior.

A Bentley convertible, first-class Mediterranean cabin and case of Perrier-Jouet may remain out of reach. (Alright, way out of reach.) But without looking too hard, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that a little bit of everyday luxury can live, quite comfortably and affordably, in your very own closet.